Fishing Bare Hill Lake in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Kenora District, Bare Hill Lake is an Ontario water. It stands 345 metres above sea level. At 1.41 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. With 9.4 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. The nearest town is Kenora, 37 km away. Winnipeg is the closest city, 156 km away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Bare Hill Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name northern pike, longnose sucker and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Bare Hill Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 19°C on average, January about -18°C. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on Bare Hill Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Lownest Lake sits 0.7 km off and takes the overflow. Where Bare Hill Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.